Sanctuary Philadelphia 
Independent Cultural Youth






Year

2019 - 2021

Audience
Philadelphia refugee and immigrant middle school age youth

Roles
Initiator
Project manager
Lead facilitator

Overview
Over 23% of Philadelphia’s 322,200 children under the age of 18 are immigrants (PEW). While research has empirically documented a need for mental health support for immigrant and refugee children, westernized approaches may not always be the most effective, culturally appropriate, or accessible.

The Sanctuary Philadelphia Independent Cultural Youth (SPICY) is a group of immigrant and refugee youth exploring experiences of mental health support, identity, and community. Initiated by Creative Resilience Collective (CRC), Southeast by Southeast (SExSE) – a community space under Mural Arts for immigrant and refugee families, and academic investigator Dr. Amy Henderson Riley at the Thomas Jefferson University College of Population Health (JCPH), the pilot program began in September 2019 with 10 middle school age teens.

SPICY workshops promote leadership, agency-building, cross-cultural understanding, collaboration and creative skills through: critical dialog, collaborative writing and/or drawing, photo-collage, logo design, screen printing, and zine making.

Learn more +







Approach

Through a series of monthly workshops, CRC facilitators bring SExSE’s two community sites (one in Southeast Philadelphia and one Northeast Philadelphia) together to co-create art and explore topics related to mental health. Programming began at the Southeast Philadelphia location, which serves primarily Bhutanese and Burmese communities. The second session took place in Lower Northeast Philadelphia, serving primarily Iraqi, Egyptian, Sudanese, and Syrian refugee communities. Youth from both sites alternate between SExSE locations every month. This exchange provides a space for immigrant youth living in different parts of Philadelphia to expand community networks across the city.






Collaborative Murals

CRC worked with teens to identify phrases and spaces in their neighborhood where they felt a sense of sanctuary and care. With Mural Arts and SExSE, these phrases and locations went on to support a collaboration with artist Amberella.

In November 2019, Amberella installed S.P.I.C.Y. hearts with Karen translations in Southeast Philadelphia at Mifflin Square park. Arabic S.P.I.C.Y. hearts can also be found at The Exchange at Oxford and within the teen lounge of Northeast Regional Public Library.
Photo Credit: Mural Arts









Credit: Theo Loftis
Identity and belonging

Due to COVID-19, SPICY workshops shifted to online monthly meetings in March 2020. CRC facilitators continued to hold space for creative art making, while facilitating discussions that explored themes related to personal identity, community care, and mental health.


See SPICY’s world of text documenting conversations about identity and belonging from our online sessions.






Credits

Co-facilitators
Theo Loftis
Ila Kumar
Felicia Blow
Jenna Spitz

Partners
Jefferson University College of Population Health
Mural Arts Southeast x Southeast

Funder
Community Driven Research Day